Two nights in a row at very good restaurants where I drank only water. Tonight is the 3rd and final restaurant meal of the weekend (family visiting), at the best restaurant in my area, but I am finding it easier each day. The feeling after getting up from the table is pretty satisfying.
We had restaurant meals on Thursday and last night where I stuck with water.
Iāve been sleeping much better (almost instantaneously). My wife who is doing "damp January, she drank at both of the dinners mentioned above, but hasnāt otherwise, has been sleeping much better as well. Sheās a terrible sleeper in general so this is a big positive.
On the weight side, Iām down about 4lbs. Sadly, Iāve been staring at my Peloton, but not actually riding it.
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I started on Monday. Also joined a health club for the first time in 30 years. Down 6 pounds. I feel better when I get up in the morning.
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People are welcome to share their tips and stories tonight.
Day 9 is underway.
Iād think for people doing this in a serious way (true DryJanuary coupled with diet and real exercise) you can expect a loss of around 4-5% of bodyweight after 2 weeks (14 days) and then 1% per week thereafter. Thatās with all the normal caveats that every person is different, your starting position, metabolism, etc.
Getting scruffy. I should be ready for the NHL in another week or two.
It will be interesting to see what the face thinks after getting a month off.
Thanks for asking. Dinner time is not the problem. I spent the holidays in California, and my bedtime got really out of whack. Maybe that, and the diet change, has made it harder to readjust to eastern time difficult. Last night was decent; I started yawning at 10:15, was in bed by 10:30 and asleep before 11. Of course, I woke up at 5am but itās a start.
Nine down, twenty-two to go. That sounds like a fine number.
I did not think about wine today, but I thought long and hard about having a snack around 9:30pm. Instead, I came up here to write this post.
Although I didnāt sleep long last night, it was good sleep. Waking up a 5am was not the end of the world. My stomach was actually growling. Itās the first time I remember waking up hungry in quite some time. I donāt even know if that happened last Dryuary. This was a good reminder to be thankful that I am fortunate enough to never go hungry, and to be able to buy decent to fine wine.
Weāll segue that into tonightās song, āThank Youā by Big Star. I wrote about Big Star last year, and they deserve another round of attention. Big Star were one of those bands that should have made it big, but for whatever reason were relegated to the dustbin of hindsight. This tune reminds me of something the Beatles would have done near the end, had they recorded in the USA.
Enjoy!
Runner-Up
āAnother Day in Paradiseā - Phil Collins. A pop star gets introspective. Yes, itās a well-worn trope, but Philās voice perfectly suites the plaintive subject matter.
Honorable Mention
āThank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf)ā - Sly & The Family Stone
still dry tho the Cuse loss left a bad taste in my mouthā¦went out and ran 8 miles to get rid of itā¦
John O: we live a short drive from you, in Manlius
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I hadnāt joined or even read this thread until tonight, but weāve been dry since NYE. I had no health reason or fear of dependence; my wife said she was doing it and after contemplating drinking alone I told myself Iād do it too. Some of my observations:
I donāt miss wine or other alcohol. I miss:
a. Searching the cellar for the perfect compliment to a home cooked meal
b. how wine improves the meal. Nobu-style Black Cod without sake or champagne; a wasted opportunity. Fresh winter black truffle risotto without a nice Nebbiolo; cāmon, why???
c. sitting in a recliner post-dinner, after a long work day, sipping a small glass of Chartreuse VEP and reading the NYT.
d. being the guy who shows up to our annual heliskiing trip with a half case of treats for my friends. Theyāre going to be disappointed next week.
Also, why the hell a dry January? If ever there was a month to drink. ![[swearing.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/8/8a0d3f3461d40641d294442fc2be78039bf94d19.gif "[swearing.gif]"){kind=small}
Okay, I said I donāt miss the alcohol, but Iām sitting in my recliner without a glass, after finishing the risotto, and feeling curmudgeonly. You can all go to hell! ![[rofl.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/a/a7452fcd8e675af869f8da01174474a545b03944.gif "rofl"){kind=small}
Cheers, and good luck for the next twenty days.
Warren
Yeah, January sux. Whoās idea was this?
My wife and I have survived dry January thus far. Today I did buy some Kentucky 74 (non-alcoholic bourbon) and made a Spiritless Whiskey Sour. I was surprised at how well it tasted. On to the next day.
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very interesting. Is it good enough to drink neat?
said the same to my wife as we started this. There is no time to drink bold reds or whiskey like the winter. Guess this is 1 way to make us excited about February though.
226 hours down. 518 hours to go. Down 5.2lbs.
My oldest went back college on Saturday and I was just concentrating on spending as much time with her as possible so I had been pretty careless about diet and exercise. I was pretty darn good on Saturday and Sunday though. The intention is to ramp up my exercise and attempt 14/10 IMF.
Itās true about Big Star, but happily Alex Chilton has had a huge impact on indie music.
1/10. Iām down 7.8lbs from 1/1 or 4.6% of bodyweight. Iād guess 2-3lbs of that is fat and 5-6 is the water weight that goes away when you start dieting and ramp up exercise. A shame that part comes back so quickly!! 22 days to go.
That first glass of wine after the 31 days abstinence. Itās incredible.
Decided on what you will be having?
Keep it up! Sounds like you are but just in case make sure you are doing some exercise. Losing muscle leads to a lower basal metabolic rate and therefore the gaining of even more fat if you go back to eating & drinking ānormalā.
My husband and I are doing our first dry January.
I was really surprised that he agreed to do it. He loves his before bed glass of bourbon.
Our alcohol intake definitely increased being home due to Covid & quarantine. The last few months I found myself making a pre-dinner cocktail out of habit more than anything. Many times I didnāt know what I wanted to drink and after thinking about it, I didnāt really want anything. I would still make a drink or have a glass of wine.
I think my husband agreed to do dry January because I said that I didnāt think he could do it. He likes a challenge. I said I would do it, if he would. So here we are.
It hasnāt been too difficult so far. I did crave a Negroni over the weekend after getting back from a very cold dog walk before dinner. I think I miss Negronis (or variations of) more than anything.
My husband and I are both training for an early March race, so I will say that the no drinking has been great for our training. Itās been nice not having a headache/hangover for my weekend long runs. Iāve done many long runs over the years after indulging the night before. Itās no fun.
We are drinking lots of hot tea in the evening. My husband never had much of a sweet tooth, but dessert appears to be his new bourbon. ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
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